Saturday, September 24, 2011

One of the biggest problems I face when traveling is trying to decide what gear to bring. I've gone on trips where I take way too much gear, but then, you never want to be without something you need. On me most recent trip to Las Vegas, I decided to try and pack light. For me, this mean one dSLR camera and my Sony NEX-5. The only tripod I brought was the Joby Focus GorrillaPod, which is small and portable. Although it would have been very nice to have a full sized tripod to use for HDR or Panoramic shots, I was able to get by with the flexible Joby.

I had been to the Hoover Dam pre-9/11, but had never taken the tour. It's amazing how much they have changed to increase the security in and around the dam. I took my wide angle zoom and a fisheye with me to the dam and the new bypass bridge. Using Photomatrix to merge an average of 6 exposures, I create these HDR images.

Fisheye from the center of the top of the Hoover Dam looking at the new Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge over the Colorado river.

The intake towers above the Dam show the low water levels from Lake Mead, which are currently 50 feet below normal levels.

The new Mike O’Callaghan – Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (Colorado River Bridge) casts a great Shadow on the landscape above the Hoover Dam. The new bridge makes the dam look small, but gives a great aerial view from the pedestrian walkway.